Police-signal-telegraph system



2 Sheets-Sheet 1,

0. A. ROLFE. POLICE SIGNAL TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.

(No Model.)

Patented Nov. 10,1891.

K WI 1 I1 lll h nnmllT MEI 1: lllllllfl Q. Q/MW (No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet 2. 0. A. ROLFE. POLIOE SIGNAL TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.

Patented Nov. 10,1891.

NiTE-n STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. ROLFE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

POLICE-SIGNAL-TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 462,741, dated November10, 1891.

Application filed March 9, 1891.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. ROLFE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Police-Signal-TelegraphSystems, of which the following is a specification.

Police-signal-telegraph systems as now generally adopted comprise aseries of lines or circuits radiating from different police-stations andconnecting with street-stations which are available to officers andother authorized persons, and where it is so desired thesestreet-stations are also similarly connected with the fire department.The most approved system in volves at each station a booth orsentry-box, within which the signal mechanism is arranged. The signalmechanism is contained within a box or case which is secured upon theinner wall of the sentry-box, and in connection therewith a telephone isgenerally provided. The sentry-box is constructed with a door which iskept under lock and key and which must be unlocked and opened to per mitan officer or other authorized person to enter the sentry-box for thepurpose of sending off a signal, it being the usual practice to furnishcertain citizens with what are known as citizens keys, so that in theabsence of an officer the holder of a citizens key can signal for policeassistance, andin some instances also send in an alarm of fire. hen anarrest has been made, it is the duty of the policeman making the arrestto open the sentryboX, enter the same, and send off a signal forassistancesuch, for example, as a wagon call.

It is likewise his duty to either report a fire or send off a fire-alarmsignal in accordance with the capabilities of the signal mechanism, andin addition to the foregoing it is his duty to enter the sentry-box atstated times and report. It is also at times desirable that he shouldenter the box and call for assistance or instructions and attend toother like business. IVhile it has been found desirable to providepersons other than policemen with keys, so that in the absence of thepolice from the vicinity of a street-station an alarm of fire or a wagoncall may, when necessary, be sent, it has been found highlyobjectionable in many instances to allow such citizens to enter thesentry-box, since in so doing they Serial No. 384,285. (No model.)

frequently send the wrong signal. Thus it is common to provide thesignal box or case which contains the signal mechanism and which isarranged within the sentry-box with a dial or index indicating theseveral calls or signals, such as No. l, telephone; No. 2, thieves; Ho.3, riot; No. at, test of line; No.5, fire, and also a sixth for policewagon, and to provide an index-hand which can be turned to anyone of theforegoingin conformity with thesignal required, and hence a person otherthan a drilled policeman frequently sends the wrong signal.

\Vhile it is desirable that persons other than policemen should beenabled to send certain signals, it is not desirable that they should beallowed to enter the sentry-boxes. \Vhen it becomes necessary for apoliceman who has made an arrest to summon assistance from the neareststation, he must first unlock and open the door of the sentry-box andthen enter the sentry-box, so as to send the proper signal for a wagon.It frequently happens, however, that such mode of procedure involvesgreat labor and difficulty. Thus where a policeman has arrested arefractory person he must, while holding his prisoner, open and enterthe. sentry-box and when once within the same send oh": the propersignal. At times such method is impracticable, and then the policemanmust either put the prisoner in charge of a by-stander or hand his keyto a by-stander and instruct him how to use it; but should there be noone around to thus relieve the policeman he may have to club hisprisoner into submission.

The object of my invention is to overcome all of the foregoingobjectionable features pertaining to street-stations, and to such end Iprovide a sentry-box with a signal mechanism which for certain purposesis available from the outside of the sentry-box, whereby certain signalscan be sent without opening the main door of the sentry-box and enteringthe same. By such an arrangement a policeman who has made an arrest canwith less difficulty send off a signal or wagon call; or, in case heshould request a by-stander to send such signal, such party in complyingwith the request cannot fail to send the proper signal, since he willhave no selection, such as he would have in the event of his enteringthe signal-box. Also, mistakes on the part of the holders of citizenskeys are avoided, and hence a source of annoyance to the policedepartment removed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents, in perspective, abooth or sentrybox with its door swung open, so as to expose theinterior of the same and further show a signal-case secured upon theinner wall of the sentry-box and having its door swung open. Fig. 2 is arear view of the sentry-box and illustrates the back of the signal-caseof the preceding figure, the rear door of such signalcase being swungopen. Fig. 3 represents on a larger scale the signal-case shown inFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the signalcase on line 4 4in Fig. 3. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are rear views of signal-cases andillustrate variations in means for operating the signal mechanism, Fig.5 being illustrative of the signal-case of preceding figure.

The booth or sentry-box A is constructed with an entrance-door a, whichcan beopened so as to permit access to be had to the interior of thestructure. The door is provided with a look a, which prior to myinvention has usually been a trap-lock, so constructedthat whenever acitizens key is used it cannot be withdrawn until released by amasterkey in the hands of an oflicer. Since, however, I propose todispense altogether with the custom of permitting citizens to open andenter the sentry-box, the use of a trap-lock on the sentry-box doorcan'be dispensed with and a lock of less complicated construction used.

The signal-case B is secured upon the inner wall a of the sentry box andis provided at its front with a door b, which in Figs. 1 and 3 is shownin an open position.

The signal mechanism shown in the signalcase is with the exceptionhereinafter noted of known construction and need not there fore bedescribed. The foregoing-mentioned exception consists in the extensionof the arbor or spindle Z) through the back 79 of the signal-case. Therear of the signal-case is exposed at the rear outside wall a of thesentry-box, and to such end the signal-ease can be fitted within anopening in the rear side of the sentry-box, substantially as in Fig. 4.The back of the signal-case is provided with the rear door B, which,when open, exposes the rear side of the arbor b. The arbor can beprovided with a crank b arranged upon its rear end, in addition to thecrank usually arranged upon its forward end. The crank 11 at the back ofthe signalcase can, for example, be used for the purpose of signalingfor a patrol-wagon, and can be used not only by any oflicer, but also bya citizen having in his possession a key to the lock 11 on the rear doorB of the signal-case. If preferred, however, the rear crank 19 could "bedispensed with and the rear end of the arbor be so constructed as torequire the use of a key for operating it; but in either case it willnot be necessary for a citizen to enter the sentry-box in order to senda wagon call, and in cases of emergency an officer can without enteringthe sentry-box simply open the rear door of the signal-case and summonassistance.

Variations in the locks used on the rear doors of the signal-cases andvariations in the signal mechanisms and means for operating the samewithout entering the sentry-box can be made in conformity with variousarrangements employed in connection, with signalcases and signalmechanisms heretofore accessible only to persons within the sentryboxes.Thus, for example, the rear door 13' of the signal-case can be providedwith akey hole I), which will admit keys both in the hands of officersand in the hands of responsible citizens, in which case any holder of akey can open the rear door and signal for help by turning the crankorlever 19 The crank b may, however,be dispensed with and the arbor beso adapted at its rear end that it can be operated by a key introducedthrough a key-hole Win the rear door B of the signal-case B in Fig. (3.Under such arrangement the key and arbor may be so constructed thatafter a citizen who holds a key has introduced the same into thekey-hole b and operated the arbor so as to send a call his key will betrapped or so held that he cannot withdraw it. The withdrawal of thecitizen-keyin such case can only be effected by first opening the case,and hence, while both oflicers and citizens will hold keys for operatingthe spindle through IOC constructed that they will not be trapped, and

'in'addition to this the officers (but not the citizens) will beprovided with keys for opening the rear door B of the signal-case by wayof the key-hole b. As another arrangement the signal-case may haveapermanentlyclosed rear or back 13 exposed at the rear outside of thesentry-box, and the arbor may extend through such back and be providedwith a crank or lever 5 which is available without opening any door.Still further variations can be made-as, for example, two keys can beprovided for one key-hole under an arrangement whereby by using one keya signal for a wagon or police assistance will be sent, while by usingthe other key a fire-alarm signal will be given. It will also beunderstood without special illustration that where a crank or lever isconstantly exposed, as in Fig. 7, a gong at the street-station wheresuch crank is turned will be rung, so as to give local notice of thefact that 'the signal mechanism has been used.

.lVhile it is preferable that the back or rear,

corresponding to the door B could behinged to the sentry-box, so thatwhen opened the back of the signal-case would be exposed through anopening in the sentry-box, and as a matter of course the door could beeither hinged or be arranged to slide.

What I claim as my invention is 1. As animprovementinpolioe-signal-telegraph systems, a street signal-station comprising asentry-box having an entrance-door which can be opened and closed byproperlyauthorized officers, and a signal-case arranged upon the innerwall of the sentry-box and provided with asignal mechanism accessiblefor the purpose of sending signals both from the interior and theexterior of the sentrybox, said sentry-box being adapted, substantiallyas set forth, to permit access to be had from its exterior to anoperating member of the signal mechanism at the back of the signal-box,and the signal mechanism being arranged to be available for all of itsuses to anthorized officers who mayenter the sentry-box, and having anoperating member at its back also available for certain uses from theoutside of the sentry-box both to said otlicers and to the holders ofcitizens keys to whom access to the interior of the sentry-box may be(16.

sired, substantially as set forth.

2. In a police-signaltelegraph system, a street signal-stationcomprising a sentry-box having an entrance-door which can be opened andclosed by properly-authorized oflicers, a signal-case contained withinthe sentry-box and provided With signal mechanism which is available foroperation both from the interior and exterior of the sentry-box, and adoor arranged to open at the exterior of the sentry-box and applied toopen and close at the back of the signal-case, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

3. In a policesignal-telegraph system, a street signal-stationcomprising a sentry-box having a door which can be opened and closed byproperly-authorized persons, a signal-case 1-5, secured upon the innerwall of the sentrybox and provided with a signal mechanism having anoperatingspindle or arbor b available within the sentry-box and extendedback through the signal-ease, so as to be available outside of thesentry-box, substantially as set forth.

4:. In a police-signal-telegraph system, the combination, substantiallyas and for the purposes hereinbefore set ,forth, of the sentry-box A,the signal-case 13, secured within the sentry-box, but having its backaccessible outside of the sentry-box, signal mechanism supported by thesignal-case and having an operating arbor extended through the back ofthe signal-case and provided with levers b and b, respectively, on itsopposite ends, and a door 13, arranged for covering and uncovering theback of the case and provided with a lock whereby it can be closed andlocked,'so as to cut off access to the lever b and unlocked and opened,so as to permit access to be had to said levers.

CHARLES A. ROLFE.

Witnesses:

OHAs. G. PAGE, FREDK. II. MILLs.

